Labour announced that it will tell its MPs they do not need to vote when a Conservative private member's bill providing for an EU membership referendum by 2017 comes to the Commons next month. Labour spinners said the abstention would express the party's view that the legislation is a pointless distraction born of Tory euromania. Their Tory counterparts said it demonstrated that Labour is intent on denying the voters a say on Europe. Labour's eventual policy on a referendum remained unclear.

Michael Fallon, a Conservative minister, confirmed to MPs that Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has ambitions to lead the Conservative Party. His remarks, a sign of frustration at Mrs May's perceived self-interest, are the first public confirmation of something Westminster has whispered about for months. Friends of Mrs May, incidentally, insist this is all nonsense and she's entirely loyal to David Cameron.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released a report on immigration showing that foreign-born men in Britain have enjoyed higher levels of employment since the financial crisis struck than men born in the country. It also suggested that migrants' propensity to work is a net contributor to the public finances, as migrant workers pay more in tax than they consume in public services.

Lord Patten of Barnes, the chairman of the BBC Trust, said that the Corporation has treated licence-fee payers like a giant free cash machine, withdrawing huge wads and spending wildly. Which is clearly nonsense: cash machines have a daily limit that means you can't take out more than £200 a day. A quick glance at the Beeb's website shows Auntie faces no such constraint.

Sajid Javid, a Treasury minister, told MPs that Stephen Hester, the departing head of RBS had done a marvellous job since 2008. Responsibility for saddling taxpayers with a huge and toxic bank lies with Labour, Mr Javid said: the last lot paid £12 billion too much for the State's holding in RBS. Mr Hester's departure has intensified talk of an imminent sell-off of RBS shares. Mr Javid said there is "no fixed timetable" for dishing out cheap shares to voters. Diary note: the next general election will be held in 2015.

Air Chief Marshal Lord Stirrup and General Lord Dannatt, two former defence chiefs, were cleared of breaking parliamentary rules over lobbying. They were filmed last year speaking to undercover Sunday Times about lobbying for a South Korean defence firm. The Lords standards commissioner found they had not broken the rules of the upper house.

Labour's decision to abstain on the forthcoming Commons vote on an EU referendum highlights one of the big questions of British politics: what will the party say about a referendum at the next general election?

Sadly, the decision does not actually answer that question, though it does help inform our guesswork.

The referendum vote has come about for any number of reasons, most of them based on Conservative Party management and fear of Ukip. But now that the vote is coming, the Tories have decided to use it against Labour at every opportunity: we trust the people, Mr Miliband, now will you do the same? etc etc.

A number of Labour people think that their party should indeed back some sort of referendum. For some, representatives of Labour's longstanding sceptic faction this is ideological. For others, including shadow ministers, it's tactical: they believe that fighting the 2015 election opposing a referendum will cost the party votes and seats.

So far, Mr Miliband has resisted those arguments, suggesting that a referendum is a silly distraction and — not unwisely — trying to cast the debate as proof that the Tories are out of touch with voters' concerns. But his position in 2015 remains gloriously ambiguous.

The situation is reminiscent of Labour's recent debates about economic policy and welfare. After years of pondering and obfuscating, Mr Miliband has recently signalled he's prepared to accept at least some of the Coalition settlement, backing some spending cuts and welfare curbs. Will he eventually come to accept some sort of referendum plan too? It might not win the election for Labour, but it would neutralise the Tory attack on the issue.

Mr Miliband's team insist they do not fear that attack, but today's move is telling. The essential fact is this: whatever the reason, Mr Miliband has revealed today that he does not want to go into an election having recorded a public vote against a referendum. A Labour referendum pledge in 2015 has just come another step closer.